New training could be mandated for Texas prosecutors

Thanks to some prodding by Bexar County District Attorney Susan Reed, a bill that would require all Texas prosecutors to undergo training to ensure evidence isn’t withheld in most felony and misdemeanor criminal cases is on its way to Gov. Rick Perry’s desk.

Bexar County District Attorney Susan Reed worked with the Texas legislature to pass an ethics training requirement for prosecutors.

House Bill 1847 would require that one of the three hours of ethics training that Texas lawyers must undergo each year is related to the requirements to disclose exculpatory and mitigating evidence in all but Class C misdemeanor cases. Newly-hired lawyers would be required to receive the training within the first six months of their employment, the proposal states.

Reed said that although she’s been providing the training to her staff for years, she was inspired to push for the statewide requirement by the highly-publicized case of Michael Morton, who was wrongly convicted in Williamson County for the 1986 slaying of his wife, Christine Morton. Morton’s case was taken up by the Innocence Project in New York, and he was cleared by DNA testing. He was formally acquitted in 2011.

Gov. Rick Perry has already signed into law the Michael Morton Act, which requires prosecutors to give lawyers representing the accused any evidence that is relevant to the defense’s case.

“This, I think, is a logical link to the Michael Morton Act,” Reed said. “We have been giving this training for years, but I felt that Texas prosecutors across the board should do this.”

Reed worked with Rep. Stefani Carter, R-Dallas, and Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, to draft the legislation, which was passed by the Texas House earlier this month and approved by the Senate on Wednesday.

“It’s important that the public has respect for prosecutors. As prosecutors, we should step up to the plate,” she said. “I’m real pleased with it.”